Safelight filter



StA'nCH ROUY@ LESTER E .BLISS INVENTOR TToRNEYs Patented Oct. 5, 1948 Stencil Ril SAFELIGHT FILTER Lester E. Bliss, Rochester, N. Y., assigner to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 4, 1946, Serial No. 659,569

The present invention relates to photography and more particularly to a, afelight filter,

As is well known, safelight lters are often formed from a sheet of glass which is suitably colored or which is provided with a colored or dyed layer which will provide a light source which is not detrimental to sensitized photographic materials. The particular color employed depends of course, on the type of photographic material being used.

. Such glass filters, obviously, are subject to breakage. In addition, the dyed layer may be damaged by water or processing liquids or by abrasions. Also the lter design may be such as to allow stray light rays to leak around the edges of the iilter, the disadvantages of which will be readily apparent to those in the art.

The present invention has, therefore, as its principal object the provision of an envelop or overcoating for the nlter which entirely encases the latter to thereby minimize breakage hazards.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an overcoating which protects the dyed layer against damage.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of edge light-lock means which effectively prevents light leaking around the edges of the glass filter.

To these and other ends, the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawing the figure is a longitudinal sectional view through a safe-light filter constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention.

The gure shows a safelight filter constructed in accordance with the present invention and comprising a base member II formed of clear transparent glass or other suitable rigid material. One surface of the glass base member has wwe-gelatin layer I3 having incorpora ed therein a suitable dye. A subbing layer I 4 may be provided between the glass surface I2 and the' gelatin layer I3. A lter of the type so far described may be mounted in a channel formed in the safelight housing. As the latter may be of any suitable construction, the details thereof are not described and are not deemed necessary to a complete understanding of the present invention.

With such lters, it is very diftlcult, if not impossible, for the user to determine on which side of the glass sheet the dyed gelatin layer I3 is 3 claims. (ci. zas-109) positioned. If, however, the user should inadvertently place the filter in the channel with the iilter layer down, stray light rays may pass through the glass base and out of the edge thereof, and, after reflection from the side walls of the channel, may nd their way past the front face of the lter. Such stray light will thus nd its way around the edges of the lter without actually passing through the dyed filtering layer, the disadvantages of which are readily apparent to those in the art.

In order to prevent such a possibility, the present invention provides an edge light-*lock for the filter. To secure this result, e edges'f the glass plate II, as well as the dye gelatinlayer I3, are given an edge coating I smof an opa uenlacquer which extends about a quarvo an inqllmlthe rear surface 20 of' the glass plate Il and the front surfaceZI of the dyed gelatin layer I3, as clearly illustrated in the figure. By means of this opaque-lacqueredgglgating, stray light rays are eliminated' and all -rays""i*'ust pass through the filtering layer I2, thus eiectively protecting the photographic material being used.

As is well known, the surface 2| of the gelatin layer is subject to scratches or abrasions which may damage or even ruin the filtering quality oi the layer. Also, the user may inadvertently place the filter, gelatin side down, on a table or support which is wet with water or processing solution which may seriously damage the gelatin layer. Also, the careless handling of the lter may leave undesirable iingerprints or marks thereon. Finally, an exposed gelatin layer may be subject to fungus and/or bacterial growth. In

order to overcome these diiilculties and to protect the easily damaged dyed gelatin layer, the present invention provides an arrangement for encasing the entire lter in a protective envelope or over-coatingl A cl parent lacquer.

While any suitable type of lacquer may be used for this protective overcoating, it is preferred to utilize a gel-type lacquer of the type disclosed in the patent to Fordyce and Clarke, No. 2,350.-

742, issued June 6, 1944. This gel lacquer is used because a, coating of the desired thickness can be secured in one application, while with other lacquers, several coatings would be required to secure the necessary thickness. In addition to affording a. protective coating for the gelatin layer, this overcoating of gel lacquer also minimizes breaking hazards of the glass base I I, thus materially prolonging the life of the lter.

In lters of this type. in addition to providing a dyed layer which will transmit only light of the proper color, it is often desirable to provide light-diffusing means 30 to properly diffuse the light. Such light-diffusing means may be incorporated in any of the materials of the abovedescribed filter, but is preferably incorporated in the dyed layer so that this layer carries both the dye-materia1 and the light-diffusing material.

The present invention thus provides a filter which both filters and diffuses the light. In addition, the filter is coated to protect the easily damaged dyed gelatin layer and to minimize breakage hazards.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modiiications thereof falling within the scope of the appending claims.

I claim:

1. A safelight filter comprising, a base member of rigid transparent material, a dyedgelatin layer on one surface of said base, an 'paquglacggg/Lemircyarinmhaedg W assiemand gelatin layer to afford an edge light-lock therefor, and a light-transmitting lacquer coating completely encasingwsaidrbase, gelatin and edge-lacquer layers.

2. A safelight lter comprising, a base member of rigid transparent material, a dyed gelatin layer on one surface of said base member, a layer of opaque lacquer completely covering all edges of said base member and said layer to afford an 4Y edge light-lock for said filter, and a clear 'gellacquer coating completely encasing said base member and said layers.

3. A safelight lter comprising, a clear glass base member, a gelatin layer on one surface of safd glass and having a dye and light diil'using material incorporated therein, an opaque lacquer extending over all edges of said base member and said gelatin-layer to provide an edge light-lock for said filter, and a clear transparent gel-lacquer coating completeiy encasing said base members and said gelatin and opaque layers.

LESTER E. BLISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references 'are of record in the ville of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Clerc. Photography; Theory and Practice, 2nd edition, published in 1937 by Sir Isaac Pitman 8: Sons, Ltd., page 78, the first paragraph under Light-lters, and page 80, footnote 3 cited. 

